Hodgepodge – a confused mixture

From the opening scene of “True You” by Invisibilia sound is utilized as one of the most important aspects of storytelling in order to create a vivid scene for the listener. The story begins with recounting the classic biblical tale of locust converging upon the Egyptian lands and destroying the crops. During this opening scene we hear dramatic music leading up to the sound of millions of locust swarming over Egypt.

From the first major scene jump into the second scene, the Invisibilia producers decided to use a more up-beat and catchy soundbite that would signal to the listener that the tone of the podcast was about to change and that they would not be talking about such dreary topics. At the end of introducing a new character the producers play a more dramatic soundbite that tells us how grasshoppers transform into locust. Then we can hear the sounds of thousands of grasshoppers swarming together and preparing to wreak havoc upon the land.

Before the first commercial break we are introduced to the upcoming stories in quick blurbs that do not reveal too much detail but are intriguing and leave the listener wanting more. While these introductions are being made the listener is also drawn in by the mystical music that is used as a segue into the commercial break and also used to bring us out of the commercial break.

When we first hear Tanya speak about how she was a “bad ass” the sounds that accompany her voice is quite fitting. They are a mix between rock and roll and punk music that would make us think of a stereotypical goth/corny film from the 90’s. Then, the producers hit us with Tanya’s alter-ego’s giggles. It is such a drastic shift in the stories tone, but by introducing the giggles as part of the story rather than just telling us that Tanya giggles in her sleep the listener becomes fully immersed in the story and it does not become any less engaging.

As Tanya tells us the first horrific story of her childhood we are drawn in with this mysterious music playing that is a bit sad and then given a quick sound as if someone jumped at you, which is presumably meant to spook the listener. As Tanya’s story goes on the sound effects and real soundbites from her bedroom continue to keep the listener interested throughout.

The next story about Chad, who draws comic strips using a pseudonym begins by playing music that could be seen as classical/dorky, which is how the story is trying to frame Chad.

Another expert use of soundbites is when Chad is describing writing and the host of the show, Miller, says “in his journal,” we then hear the scraping sound of a pencil in a journal. Uses like this of a soundbite is what can help differentiate a good from a great podcast; the attention to detail and the care that the Invisiblia team gives to their podcasts shines through in this episode.

One idea for my podcast is the local food scene in the Burlington area. I think that this area is chock full of interesting people, many of whom have stories to tell that are unheard and the food scene might be an exciting avenue to explore people and their businesses. One might think that an area as small as Burlington might not have such a large or thriving food scene. In reality, our neighborhood is filled with restaurants, food stands, and food trucks. One prompt of Abel’s that I would like to use in finding a podcast worthy story in the Burlington area is “Somebody does something because ______ but_______.” It would be ideal if I could find a story about a person or group of people who worked towards opening a restaurant, food cart or food truck but had something unexplainable/unimaginable happen to them and took them for a wild ride at the start of their venture. I hope that for a story like this I will be able to speak with successful business owners in Burlington and gain their perspective on an issue after it was resolved. I have learned that the restaurant business is an exciting place since it attracts such a wide range of people and I think that it is a frequent topic of interest to many, mainly because everyone eats!

Another prompt of Abel’s that could be useful in creating my podcast would be “I’m doing a story about X. And what’s interesting about it is Y.” I think that for this prompt I would try to find a person with an exciting story about overcoming a common struggle in a unique way. UVM has plenty of students from diverse backgrounds, and I know that there are students in our community with exceptional stories about how they overcame issues within their personal or academic lives. I think that this type of podcast story would be inspirational and motivational while highlighting a particular individual.

Abel’s final prompt “This happened ____, then this____, then this_____, and then you wouldn’t #$%&*! believe it but____. And the reason that is interesting to every single person walking on the face of the earth is_____.” For this prompt, I think it would great to find a funny story from someone who worked in a retail store and had a ridiculous experience with a customer. In high school, I worked at a retail store and even though it was a local neighborhood shop and we knew many of the customers coming in people would still do things that shocked us. Typically, their actions were rude, funny sometimes even outright disgusting. If my group can find someone who currently works retail, then I think we could get some great stories about customers that would be comical to the average person.

I recently listened to a podcast after much debate and self-doubt that I would ever be able to get excited and interested in what the hosts were saying. I’ve always thought that podcasts were boring, long, and not nearly as vivid as watching a movie or reading a book.

Well, guess what?

I was wrong. Podcasts have the potential to be exciting, vivid and interesting so long as you can approach them with an open mindset and are doing something useful while you are listening to them. Sitting on the couch and listening to a podcast might be a surefire way to fall asleep quickly, but it isn’t the way to learn something new. Although setting and scene matter for a podcast to keep your attention, it is not the only thing that is necessary for a podcast to be excellent. For a podcast to be engaging and worthwhile, it must hit a checklist of specific points.

Let’s take a look at the podcast This American Life, which features stories from across the country. A show of theirs that I recently listened to was titled, Petty Tyrant. This episode of This American Life was about a school janitor who went to prison for a long list of crimes that included terrorism, vandalism, arson… you get the idea; he was a bad guy. The issue was that this Janitor, Steve Raucci, somehow made his way to the top of the ladder within the school district and began to exert unjust amounts of power, influence, and torment over his colleagues.

The host of the show, Sarah Koenig, brings us through Raucci’s rise and fall using a variety of techniques that are meant to keep podcast listeners engaged and interested throughout the entirety of her hour-long show. Although Koenig is the main host of the show, Ira Glass, another employee of This American Life sets the scene with a quirky character development story about a conflict that occurred between a teacher who wanted to use his space heater and a district electrician who was sent by Raucci to remove said teacher’s space heater. While Glass’s initial story did not directly involve Raucci, it included an order that Raucci demanded, a theme that becomes recurring throughout the story.

When Koenig takes over the story, she begins giving it twists and turns using suspenseful narrative to guide the listener into an exciting and bizarre story about a janitor who somehow became an administrator at the school and the Union leader. All while increasing his salary, sabotaging his colleagues, and committing acts of terrorism such as planting bombs at the doorstep so his enemies. Koenig develops these twists and turns by bringing in a variety of characters ranging from Raucci’s victims to the District Attorney that prosecuted the case. In between different characters talking Koenig strategically used mysterious, slow-paced music to in the background when people describe the heinous acts that Raucci took against his victims and in between speaking to let shocking facts sink in. It is clear that the placement of the music was meticulously placed to add to the effectiveness of this story.

The story is very well paced and allows for multiple characters to share their perspectives on the case without losing the listeners attention. The story concludes fascinatingly with Ira Glass bringing in Paul Nelson, a reporter for the Times Union Paper in Schenectady, NY who interviewed Raucci ten years after his arrest. In the final act of this podcast, we hear things from Raucci’s perspective and how he didn’t think he could hurt anyone, even though he was planting bombs. We also gain some closure when we learn that Raucci is in prison and will probably not make it out because he is dying of cancer and is refusing treatment. While the story may conclude on a “sad” note, it reminds us that the victims of Raucci’s crimes have some peace of mind knowing that he is behind bars.

I could imagine pitching this podcast to the producers was a bit of an odd pitch. I mean, how would you even start the conversation? “Hey guys, there’s a corrupt janitor in New York who just got arrested for trying to blow a bunch of people up, let’s do a podcast.” Seriously, it sounds weird and crazy, but somehow the podcast worked and when investigated it turned out that the story went well beyond the surface of the arrest and exposed a long timeline of corruption and dishonest administrators. Give this podcast a listen; it was an exciting and pretty crazy story coming out of a place you’d least expect. It’s a good journalistic lesson about there always being a story if you look beyond the surface.

For my video remix I will seek to highlight the issue of climate change. Worldwide we are facing natural disasters that have effected millions of people on massive scales, bigger than ever before. Every week we hear about another hurricane, monsoon, tsunami, ice storm, snow storm or rain storm during a time of the year when there usually would not be one. Climate change is a real and present danger, one that can no longer be ignored by certain groups on the political spectrum.

My political remix video will begin on a more lighthearted note by highlighting comical aspects of natural disasters. The comical aspects of natural disasters will be reporters and storm chasers who get stuck in the midst of a natural storm/disaster. The remix will quickly cut from incident to incident showing people getting soaked by a waves, their umbrellas flying out of their hands or getting hit by non-lethal objects.

The remix will then cut to more serious notes showing newscasters behind their desks and politicians reporting about climate change and unprecedented storms. This section of the video remix will utilize scary events and reports within the last decade; some of the biggest storms including Hurricane Katrina and Sandy will be featured during this segment to drive home the point of just how devastating these natural disasters have had on human life.

The third sequence in the remix video will be actual footage of the natural disasters. In comparison with the first sequence, this part will show the goriness of the storms and natural disasters. The more amateur footage will create a real-feel and will move slower than the previous two sequences to give the viewer time to let the images sink in.

The fourth and final sequence of the remix video will once again be quick clips, showing politicians who deny climate change. This piece of the remix will show the ridiculousness of politicians and people in power who do not believe in climate change even though the previous three sequences have shown the effects of climate change on the world.